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Ahovalam (Ahobalam) Ahovalam is said to be the place where Lord Vishnu accepted the half-man, half-lion form of Lord Narasimha in order to defeat the demon Hiranyakasipu. Ahovalam is 49km south of Nandyal Railway Station and about 300km south of Hyderabad. Ahovalam is the only place in India where all nine forms of Lord Narasimha,
Nava Narasimha, are worshiped. The nine (nava) forms of Narasimha are:
(1) Prahlada-varada Narasimha or Lakshmi Narasimha, (2) Chatravata Narasimha,
(3) Yogananda Narasimha, (4) Karanda Narasimha, (5) Krodha Narasimha,
(6) Guha Narasimha, (7) Jwala Narasimha, (8) Malola Narasimha, and (9)
Pavana Narasimha. The Narasimhadeva Deity in the Ugra Narasimha Temple
in Upper Ahovalam is said to be self-manifested (swayambhu). Sri Chaitanya
visited this pilgrimage place. The Prahlada-varada Narasimha Temple in LowerAhovalam and the Ugra Narasimha Temple in Upper Ahovalam are major temples with formal worship. The other temples in the area have little formal worship and few visitors. Some are difficult to reach. Lower Ahovalam The temple dedicated to Chatravala Narasimha is about
2km from the bus stand under a pippal tree. About 4km up the hill to
Upper Ahovalam are the Karanda Narasimha and Yogananda
Narasimha Temples. It is said that Lord Narasimha taught Prahlada
several yogic postures here, which is why the Lord is known here as
Yogananda Narasimha. It is best to hire a guide if
you wish to visit these temples. If you leave from the back entrance of this temple and walk ten minutes, you come to the Krodha Narasimha Temple, where the Lord is worshiped in His boar form. There is a temple cave of Varaha Narasimha here. Varaha, the boar incarnation of Lord Krishna, killed Hiranyakasipu’s younger brother, Hiranyaksa, thus incurring the wrath and hatred of Hiranyakasipu. Thus the two incarnations, Narasimha and Varaha, responsible for destroying the two demon-brothers, have been installed together in this temple. The Malola Narasimha Temple is about 2km from here. The Deity here is said to be in santa-rupa, in sport with Lakshmi. About a half-hour walk up the hill on the way to the pillar is the Jwala Narasimha Temple, where the Ugrakala form of the Lord is found. This is said to be the actual spot where Lord Narasimha tore Hiranyakasipu apart. This Deity is located in a cave overlooking a steep cliff. You need a guide to reach the place, which is at the end of a difficult climb. Looming fifteen stories into the sky over Ahovalam is the ugra-stambha,
the pillar from which Lord Narasimha appeared. You receive your first
sight of the pillar after walking about a half-hour from where the bus
lets you off at Upper Ahovalam. You will need the help of a guide to
reach the pillar, as the trek takes about two hours. It is a hard climb
directly up the mountain’s side. Other Places There are a few guest houses near the temple in Lower Ahovalam with rooms for Rs 100/150. There is also a larger Rest House where the bus lets you off at Upper Ahovalam. There is a small restaurant by the bus stand. There is not much in
the way of food or drink for sale in this town. Bottled water may not
be available and there is not a good selection of fruit. Rail There is a railway station at Cuddapah, which
is a stop on the Chennai-Mumbai route. From there you get a bus to Allagudda
about 60km north and then another bus to Ahovalam. Bus To get a bus to Ahovalam, you first take a bus to Allagudda (1 hr), which is on the main road halfway between Hyderabad and Chennai (Tirupati). To get to Ahovalam from Srisailam takes about 10 hours. To get to Hampi from here you have to take three or four buses and the trip takes about 12 hours. There is a direct bus to Tirupati (7 hr) and Chennai (11 hr) departing around 5.30 pm from Lower Ahovalam. If you know of a
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